Sunday was a special day for me for a couple of reasons. Once, because we got to celebrate the birthday of a relative of mine at a nice place and secondly, because finally I had the chance to get closer to a horse and have some fun photographing animals in the stable.
It's not the first time I got to pet a horse, but the previous occasions were really brief, as long as an animal is willing to stay in front of the visitors, while an iron fence is separating them from horse. I grew up in the city and even though I got to visit my grandparents in their village during summer breaks, there were no horses around. So you will understand why I was so happy on Sunday.
The place we visited is a complex one, it is outside and far away from any city. It's a big property offering accommodation, riding lessons, organizing events and they have a nice restaurant with two or more terraces as well, for those looking to escape the city. They have a stable and a small animal park for smaller animals you can visit for free, if you served a meal in the restaurant and for a small fee, if you're just visiting.
At the time of our visit, there was one horse outside in the ring, one kid was riding it, or better said the instructor was leading the horse as this was just a normal walk.
If you look closer, you can see the circle marked on the ground and the horse knows to walk that circle, so I don't think there are problems there.
Although I've never had the chance to ride a horse, I think it's a great and fun experience for kids of his age.
For me, this is where the fun started in every sense of the word. We entered the stable and saw the horses. At that point I had two goals, not exactly compatible with each other, so I had to work magic to make it work.
Moat of the horses were either tired, sleepy or bored, and only a handful of them showed interest in making friends with the visitors.
This white beauty was drinking water on its own, most likely hydration is automated to some degree.
As I mentioned above, I had two goals. One was to take, or try to take some decent photos and the other was to pet the horses, try to make friends with them.
The second goal was easier to achieve, but the first one ... that was a headache.
When you have a moving animal of such size and an iron gate with bars so close to each other, you need a lot of luck and a lot of shots to get the job done.
Unfortunately, these beauties were not interested in making friends with me, or anyone else.
... aaaand this was my moment! Finally! These horses were not behind bars, they could stick their heads out freely and let visitors pet them and this beauty made the most of our love.
While the guy was petting him/her, I tried to take some photos, and this is what I ended up with.
It was my second photo shoot with horses and I knew if I'm patient and take a bunch of photos, I can get some really funny ones at some point.
After leaving I was thinking how lucky I am to have had this chance to connect with this lovely horse. He was really friendly and enjoyed being petted.
Truth to be told, I was afraid to put my hand inside the bars at the previous places as I didn't know how the horses will react. One wrong move and they could break my arm, so I decided to play it safe and spend more time with this one.
It was really amazing how much love and kindness this horse had for us and how patient he was.
What surprised me even more was that he didn't take his eyes off of me. I don't know why was that, maybe curiosity as he could figure out we love him, and had no intention to harm or disturb him.
Look at this face. How can you not love it?
And to finish this post on a funny note, we got what we deserved 馃槀 a tongue out at the end, which was really cute by the way and no way offensive. How can you get mad at such a cutie pie?
Thinking back to our visit, I could play with this horse all day long and would never get tired of him (or her). I don't know how much they can feel about what humans feel for them, probably a lot but I'd pet him all day. Most likely I would never ride a horse, because I have too much respect and love for them, so letting them carry me is definitely out of the question.
I hope you liked this horse photo shoot as much as I do. It wasn't easy, but totally worth it.
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